Ever since I had my first fracture I have suffered stress. Mainly because I was very active then overnight things changed. I think I feel a little like a caged animal 
My poor posture doesn’t help and I know I clench my jaw a lot. It is getting so bad now I wonder if I should take some sort of anti anxiety medication. But a lot of them advise not taking Nurofen or Co-Codamol. So I am worried as if I have another fracture (I’ve had 4) how will I’d deal with pain. Has anybody any experience of this. Txs.
Hi Philips, i can imagine just how you are feeling going from an active life to being how you are. I took ibuprofen at the beginning in spite of it not being all that great for bones, I alternated it throughout the day with paracetamol then dropped the ibuprofen as soon as I could. I also used a PEMF mat which helped a lot - unfortunately they have greatly increased in price since I bought mine and there are several contraindications to using them which fortunately didn’t apply to me.
I do Pilates which is very relaxing - nothing strenuous and our teacher is a physiotherapist, yu often see physio led Pilates classes advertised. I’m in a group of six ladies, all about my age and all with something wrong with them we don’t do anything that involves putting our legs round our necks though - it’s mainly stretches. Strengthening your core will help support your spine. You also have to concentrate which would help you. You could also try yoga or t’ai chi which is supposed to be good for you. I never got to grips with yoga although I tried it several times and t’ai chi did nothing for me at all which was a pity as I would have liked to do it.
You could probably improve your posture if you walk with Nordic poles - I find that makes a big difference. I think they hold you in a good position and also take the weight off your joints. I started with a six week course where the teacher provided everything but we liked it and bought our own poles.
I would try to get help to sort out your posture for starters and then go from there. See if you can find a local ROS group - look on their website to see if there are any near you - where you could talk to other people about how they manage etc and try to get back to doing the things that you enjoyed doing before. I don’t think I would want to take anti anxiety meds but that’s just me - once you get sorted out you probably won’t want to take them. Good luck, just be kind to yourself.
Thank you. I did a lot of Nordic walking before. I shall get the poles out again. But as I’ve suffered spontaneous fractures I’m so worried about exercise. Vicious circle really.
Just to say I take very regular co-codamol and have done for the past 18 months. The pain is worse than possible side effects |(which I’ve not experienced). I want to live as pain free as possible. I walk every day (4-5 miles and run 5k once or twice a week. I dont have vetebral fractures to my knowledge, but my T score in my spine is -4.7 so the writings on the wall. Sometimes I have to roll out of bed in the morning - but with co-codamol (30mg/500mg) i manage a normal life. We are all different and have our own worries and anxieties about medications and I think we all have to do what suits our lives best. Good luck
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Hi Philippa 1412. I am sorry you are going through this. I think you almost have to deal with this as you would after a bereavement, going through all the stages, such as loss (of your old life), denial, anger etc., It has taken a lot of time and patience but I found by improving my diet, striving everyday to have a walk outside(weather permitting), joining an online gentle exercise class and also yoga nidra (which is a form of guided meditation) has really helped me greatly. I have found this helps me to stay calm and not become anxious and also to remain positiv. Like you I was suffering anxiety and fear of further fractures. I felt all tensed up which seemed to make the pain in my body much worse. It has taken time and a lot of patience but I have seen improvement physically and emotionally and I have really gained in confidence. I was offered anti-anxiety meditation by my GP, I think it was called sertroline but I read somewhere that this medication affected bone health so decided against taking it. I really hope that you manage to find something that will help you to feel a little better, whether this be through natural methods ,or through medication.